Mercredi, folle journée! (2001)

Director:

Pascal Thomas

Writers:

François Caviglioli (written by) &
Nathalie Lafaurie (written by) ...

Release Date:

28 March 2001 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Student | Fashion Show | Teenage Boy | Naval Officer | Police Headquarters

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Vincent Lindon	...	Martin Socoa
Isabelle Candelier	...	Vitalie Rambaud
Isabelle Carré	...	Antonella Lorca
Olivier Gourmet	...	Denis Pelloutier
Alessandra Martines	...	Madame Socoa
Hervé Pierre	...	L'avocat de Socoa
Luis Rego	...	Mercier
Maurice Risch	...	Grogneau
Clément Thomas	...	Le commissaire adjoint
André Thorent	...	Le directeur de l'agence
Armelle	...	Marie-Thérèse, la soeur de Vitalie
Albert Dray	...	Dédé
Anne Le Ny	...	Marie Pelloutier
Christian Morin	...	Agenore Esposito
Roger Trapp	...	Grand-Pré

Also Known As:

Day Off (International: English title)
Mercredi (France) (working title)
Mercredi ou la folle journée (France) (working title)
Mercredi, folle journée!... (France) (poster title)
Mercredi, la force de la vie (France) (working title)
Wacky Wednesday (USA) (literal English title)
Wednesday: Nutty Day! (France) (literal English title)

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:13 | France:U | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

La Sèvre Nantaise, Loire-Atlantique, France

Company:

Ah! Victoria! Films

Good example of outstanding French comedy

On the surface, this may seem a simple, typical French frolic, with too many characters, too many intertwined story lines - a little too much of everything stuffed into a two hour (!) piece of carefree entertainment.

OTOH, from a less superficial point of view though, this can be seen as outstanding ensemble work, well scripted, - acted and edited about the absurdity of everyday life. A school class in Nantes, France, has the day off to play and the kids get to spend time with their parents. The parents of the schoolchildren lead a hectic life full of stress and relationship blues, hardly knowing what to dowith their children when they're off school.

The beauty of this film is, that it tells a story, without ever becoming boring, about how trivial our everyday lives are. If you understand French well enough, you'll find a lot of subtle and painful jokes, without ever turning into cynicism.

How much better are we than our children? Or haven't we ever grown up? These seem the relevant questions here.

The acting (as usual ensemble piece: an all star cast) is very good and contains finesse. Special regard must go to the many children that not only inhabit, but beautifully embody the story. The director did an excellent job by letting the girls and boys, without acting experience, look natural and sane in the midst of the frenzies the grown ups produce. Well done job there.

All in all, Mercredi folle journee is an achievement. Maybe not a masterpiece, but at least a good example of French comedy, and a Saturday afternoon well spent.